The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-04-07
OUR RINGwO0D LETTER.


RINewooD, n. c., April 5th, 1887.
After snow and storm, ice and frost,
again fair spring like days and beautiful
sunshine and gentle zephyrS greet us and
make all nature beauty to the eye and
pleasant TO the sense.
Mr.. Green Cook, of whom last wrote
as being seriously i'll is improving; also
Mr.. 5. 5. Norman, of Brinkleyville is
better.
Speaking with Esq. Tlios. Y. Avent yes
terCay on the continued hard times, and so
much gratuito,ls advice given farmers by
every editor eXtant, he wisely, think, adj
yiSed them to write more about how to get
goods, produce, money, &c, &c, cheaper
and give diverSihcation rest. Said he,
How can man in debt diversity? Ii he
goes to a merchant to run him. how
much cotton or tobacco are you going to
plant? q is the first question asked, and the
poor fellow to get rum at about 75 per
cent. on his purchases must plant monied
crop, or turn out to grass" Esquire Avent
thinks the homestead law, chattel mort
cages, laZiness and broken down political
paltroons, are prime factors i'll the hard
times movement, and is for new deal
and determination on the part OF intelli-
gent agriculturistS to work out their own
salvation from the merciless bondage of
uSury and the slavery of debt and degreda-
ton financially, to which all plans and
systems have brought them.
A Greek maiden being asked what for
tune she wanted to bring her husband, re-
piled in the following beautiful language.
Il will bring him what gold cannot pur-
chaSe-a heart unspotted and virtue with
out a stain-which is that descended to me
from my parents.
Bishop Lyman preached very plain, en-
PERTAINING and instructive sermon in the
! Protestant Episcopal church last Friday.
My sympathy for the fallen: For my
part l confess | have not the heart to take
an offending man or woman from the gem
eral crowd of sinful erring beings, and
judge them harshly. The little | have
seen of the world and know of the history
OF mankind teaches me to look upon the
errors OF others i'll sorrow, not anger. When
l take the history of one poor heart that
has sinned and suffered and represent tc
myself the struggles and temptations it has
passed, the brief pulsations OF JOY, the fe-
vered inquietude of hope and fear, the
the presence of want, the desertion of
friends, the scorn of the world that has but
little charity, the desolatiOn of the souls
sanctuary, and threatening voice within,
health gave men hope that stays the long
est with u.s. have little heart for aught
else but thankfulness that it is not so with
me, and would fain leave the erring soul of
my fellow being with HIM from whose
hands it came,
Even as little child,
! Weeping and laughing in its childish sport. ="
1t is said by one who ought to know that
Mr.. III Rider Haggard the now famous
author of king solomon Mines and
She" was guilty of wholesale plagiarism
from Tom Moores tale 1.-The Epicurian -
and a charge of similar nature is now
brought against him. Very near the end
of his beautiful story Jess some charm
ing lines are found beginning, 'If l should
die tonight" as | find published in last is
sue Of the GOLD LEAF. You are in error,
however, as to the name of the author.
Those verses were written by Mr.. r. G.
! Vivian Meyers, of Philadelphia, many
years ago, and on both sides of the Atlantic
! they have been printed again and again in
periodicals and newspapers. For many
years this little gem was one of the pieces
! de resistance of Mr. S. K. Murdoch in his
delightful public readings.
| Last week | noticed briefly the book of
Dr.. Edward Warren, Bey. 1t is indeed in
! tereStng reading and being for five months
the Doctors pupil and admirer, | wish to
call especial attention to his great learning,
the many vicissitudes of his life and his
pathetic is this reference in his work to
i the death of beloved sister: what a
terrible thing is death! How the sun
! darkens and the moon pales and the flow
ers fade and life losses its charm under the
blight of its presence And then after the
/
reality of loss and separation comes, what
a dreary pail overspreads existence, and
how utterly empty and worthless the world
and even Heaven seem. When l saw her
put away in the cold and cherries earth
my heart felt pang which rent its every
/ fibre and left a wound which has not
healed though nearly half a century has
poured its balm upon it, What a beaut-
full tribute to the dead. Another paragraph
recall: There are two things about which
l make it rule never to quarrel with any
man, and that is his religion and his poll
tics, however blindly he may differ from
me or whatever the extremes into which
they carry him. Orthodoxy OF heterodoxy
in these regards are matters for the SUI
preme intelligence alone, and he who erectS
, stone wall by which to determine them
for others, simply assumes the role of a
bigot or a partisan. The road which a
! man conscientiously believes in and per-
! sistently adheres to, is the way for him
and no one has the right to criticise or to
question him for following it," Those
who wish to read this interesting book
from the hands of one of North Carolina's
most gifted sons can probably secure it
from DR.. T. j. Boykin, Baltimore, Md.
q. Z. NJ.